Information overload

[davidintp]

I find myself never taking breaks from taking in new information. I'm glued to my phone, my video game, or browsing through apple tv. While I'm glued to the screen I'm always thinking about how much better I'd feel if I just stopped watching and did something else. I think I'm afraid to face reality. The problem is that my brain is taking in way too much information. As an intp I process this information very slowly and thoroughly.

I process the information either in my sleep or when I'm living my "real life", for example when I'm hanging out with family, shopping for groceries, or being at work. In the real life I'm busy processing all the information that I took in the night before so I'm often caught staring into space and daydreaming or my family is angry because my brother-in-law shows me something he made and I show no emotional reaction.

Do you guys have any techniques or hobbies maybe that I can do instead of being screen addicted? The only thing that helps me process my information overload is cutting my nails and obviously I can't do that everyday.

 

[Hadoblado]

Meditation. Exercise. I also think on it as I go to sleep, this works now, but previously gave me insomnia.

Whatever it is, make sure there's no stakes. Don't ride a bike. I've had three crashes in three months from going off into space thinking. One I broke my arm in. Another I ended up with my bike half way under the damn car (I managed to jump free myself, and the bike was miraculously unharmed). Not enough time to think leaves me a disengaged and grievously negligent mess. This extends to the social. Get your thinking out of the way before you're given the opportunity to kill people's vibe.

 

[Happy]

You probably need to let go of things. Your mental life sounds very cluttered. I've defs been there.

For starters, let go of all social media (if you haven't already). That'll cut your mental clutter in half.

Also, let go of news. Don't check news, like, ever. If some shit is going down, someone will tell you.

Check email once or twice a day. Same goes for messages, chats, etc. If it's important, people will call you.

These 3 will cut your screen addiction down considerably. If you have any queries on the above, I'll happily elaborate.

After that, it's really up to you. I personally broke my screen addiction habits by doing the above and then deleting all but the essential apps on my phone, and generally limiting web browsing to when I want to research something specific.

Since then, the scope of my work has expanded to IT, so I've developed an interest in that. I do spend more of my spare time in front of the screen, but it's usually working toward something specific, or tinkering to develop skills, so I don't count that sort of thing under screen addiction.

Perhaps you need to find computer related hobbies if you don't already have them (IIRC you are a programmer already, no?) and instead of absorbing information (input), focus on output. In MBTI terms, get out of your Ti-Ne loop. Do something productive that you can feel proud of, freeing you up to enjoy life a bit more and spend less time 'processing'.

These are just suggestions.

 

[davidintp]

You probably need to let go of things. Your mental life sounds very cluttered. I've defs been there.

For starters, let go of all social media (if you haven't already). That'll cut your mental clutter in half.

Also, let go of news. Don't check news, like, ever. If some shit is going down, someone will tell you.

Check email once or twice a day. Same goes for messages, chats, etc. If it's important, people will call you.

These 3 will cut your screen addiction down considerably. If you have any queries on the above, I'll happily elaborate.

After that, it's really up to you. I personally broke my screen addiction habits by doing the above and then deleting all but the essential apps on my phone, and generally limiting web browsing to when I want to research something specific.

Since then, the scope of my work has expanded to IT, so I've developed an interest in that. I do spend more of my spare time in front of the screen, but it's usually working toward something specific, or tinkering to develop skills, so I don't count that sort of thing under screen addiction.

Perhaps you need to find computer related hobbies if you don't already have them (IIRC you are a programmer already, no?) and instead of absorbing information (input), focus on output. In MBTI terms, get out of your Ti-Ne loop. Do something productive that you can feel proud of, freeing you up to enjoy life a bit more and spend less time 'processing'.

These are just suggestions.

This and the comment above are super helpful. I do enjoy biking although it mostly satisfies my physical state, less my mental state. Meditation sounds exhausting and boring to me but perhaps it's exactly what I need? Idk.

I already don't have a Facebook or Twitter but I do check my mail and Google news all the time and I find myself grabbing my phone whenever I'm feeling uncomfortable or when I don't know own what to do. Do you guys have have that weird emptiness of standing at home and you know you could be doing stuff but you just don't know what and where to begin meanwhile worrying about all the things that need to be done such as chores or calling family etc?

Also, other than meditation and exercise, do any of you have a hobby or an activity that calms you down and aids in processing thoughts?

 

[Happy]

You can alleviate that lost feeling/boredom at home by having a spare time project or 2 running. That way, when you feel lost, you can slip into it and feel productive.

For example, I am currently tinkering with the following:

• A woodworking project
• A Raspberry Pi project
• An arduino project

Not saying you should do any of those things, they're just examples. When they don't satisfy the need, I work on some higher level projects (long term life improvement stuff - business planning, etc)

Regarding the meditation thing, if you do it properly, it's not boring. Try using the app 'Headspace'. It's very good as an entry into meditation. Oi bees not have any prior knowledge. It's worth a shot.

 

[davidintp]

I tried Headspace and I do feel much better after only 3 minutes. Do you know if there's a comparable app that is free or costs less? It's ridiculously expensive.

 

[Happy]

Not sure, I've heard Calm is largely equivalent, but I think it's also paid.

My advice would be to finish the first 10 sessions of Headspace and if you do think it's valuable, just pay for one month subscription, then cancel it immediately. That way you won't be re-billed. Then just do as much as you can, that way you can learn to meditate from a Buddhist monk for $20 by bingeing on the recordings and you'll prob learn to do it autonomously. (If you wanted to be a real cheapskate, you could probably pay for a month, then record all the content on your computer lol)

Really, what's a 1-off $20? Equivalent to a movie ticket or a book? Pfft. It's probably the cheapest way to learn to meditate from a legit Buddhist monk.

 

[Grayman]

Lots of sex. Lots of dates and wooing of women. Or church but thats not as much fun.

 

[redbaron]

lift weights
read books
do gardening
bonus points if you walk to/from places (actual walking, not shuffling forwards with your neck craned down at the phone)

 

[cheese]

I find myself grabbing my phone whenever I'm feeling uncomfortable or when I don't know own what to do. Do you guys have have that weird emptiness of standing at home and you know you could be doing stuff but you just don't know what and where to begin meanwhile worrying about all the things that need to be done such as chores or calling family etc?

You should probably be doing all that stuff you're worrying about instead of running away from it glued to a screen. Spending all your time taking in info, and reflexively grabbing your phone when you're stressed, is pure escapism. Just directly confront the actual problems you need to address, and you might even find your desire for screen time drops by itself as your stress does. Don't develop another hobby unless it's directly related to your overall health (like exercise) - another hobby is just another way of avoiding the actual issues. Spend your time on the people around you and it'll automatically get taken out of your screen time. It'll also give you more opportunity to practise listening and socialising. No escape feels as good as dealing with your problems head-on and eliminating them.

Putting in the time to keep your life running smoothly and your relationships fed is generally inherently fulfilling. You should think of that as time well-invested from which you will later reap rewards. Don't think of this as a subtraction exercise ("Oh, I need to cut down on screen time"). Think of what you need to *add*, in response to the issues in your life (like your family being angry when you don't pay attention). You need to (eg): show up with your family more, listen more actively, take notes if you have to (or whatever area in life it is you want to improve). Time is objective and limited - placing more time where your priorities are takes time away from your addiction. So make a real effort to deal directly with reality wherever it counts to you. You won't know the scope of reality, your problems or why you're afraid to deal unless you're actively working on it. Loving info is fine - the compulsion exists because of avoidance, so stop avoiding.

Also, nutrition and physical movement.

As long as you keep trying to deal directly with your issues, you're on the way. It's a process.

- fellow info addict and procrastinator